I finally watched the Kona race last night from Tivo. Its amazing that Macca almost caught Norman. It was soooooo close. A great race for sure! And say what you want about NBC’s coverage, but I though it was very well produced, had some cool music, and some of the “sob” stories are actually very inspirational!
But I couldnt help but wonder why Chris did not wear an aero helmet like his competitors? We have read over and over how much of a difference an aero helmet can make. If Macca is that strong a runner, wouldnt it make more sense to use every tool available (like an aero helmet) to improve his bike time so that there is a smaller gap to overcome on the run? The only thing I can think of is that his helmet allowed more cranal cooling than an areo one would, but when you want to win…
Think about it, the gap at the finish line was small enough that an aero helmet could have made the difference between 1st and 2nd place for Macca.
Forgive me if this has been discussed, but I searched and did not find anything. The pro’s in this sport are truly excptional. Rock on!
“The only thing I can think of is that his helmet allowed more cranal cooling than an areo one would, but when you want to win…”
Heat management on the lava fields is very, very important. It’s not something you can just suck it up, and forgett about. It can be the difference between winning, and losing.
Macca’s a great competitor. I can assure you that he would have worn an aero helmet had he seen an advantage to it.
I finally watched the Kona race last night from Tivo. Its amazing that Macca almost caught Norman. It was soooooo close. A great race for sure! And say what you want about NBC’s coverage, but I though it was very well produced, had some cool music, and some of the “sob” stories are actually very inspirational!
But I couldnt help but wonder why Chris did not wear an aero helmet like his competitors? We have read over and over how much of a difference an aero helmet can make. If Macca is that strong a runner, wouldnt it make more sense to use every tool available (like an aero helmet) to improve his bike time so that there is a smaller gap to overcome on the run? The only thing I can think of is that his helmet allowed more cranal cooling than an areo one would, but when you want to win…
Think about it, the gap at the finish line was small enough that an aero helmet could have made the difference between 1st and 2nd place for Macca.
Forgive me if this has been discussed, but I searched and did not find anything. The pro’s in this sport are truly excptional. Rock on!
Jimbo
Macca found out, how to be more aero, without any gear. Just look at the Watts needed his position and Al Sultans Watts. Tactically superior not to “individual time trial” even one meter, let the others work, safe the watts, stay cool and outrun the crazy guys who push wind.
Respect from my side for the windpushers though.
(Helmet or not, Macca was in the pack and had no intention to leave it)
I guess I suspected it was heat management. But still…just another few seconds relatively! And yes, ultimate respect for both wind pushers and the fleet feet!
I guess I suspected it was heat management. But still…just another few seconds relatively! And yes, ultimate respect for both wind pushers and the fleet feet!
apparently stadler managed the heat ok while wearing an aero helmet and generating much more watts, and therefore heat. he’s also bigger than macca so he disipates less heat.
IMO macca didn’t win because of a poor equipment choice. He could have stayed in the pack and saved a few watts and then run faster, or he could have gone with Lieto and start to run closer to norman
I guess I suspected it was heat management. But still…just another few seconds relatively! And yes, ultimate respect for both wind pushers and the fleet feet!
apparently stadler managed the heat ok while wearing an aero helmet and generating much more watts, and therefore heat. he’s also bigger than macca so he disipates less heat.
It’s not as simple as that… some people tolerate the heat better than others regardless of their size or conditioning.
Its not that simple. You have to look at the “additional” insulating effect of materials over your body. I am very efficient at dissapating heat out of my body (5% body fat helps). But if you add a long sleeve wetsuit in warm water, or an aero helmet in hot weather, it adds a lot more relative insulation delta compared to a guy at 10% body fat who already has a higher insulation effect within his body. So on a hot day the aero helmet or long sleeve wetsuit hurts him less. Conversely on a cold day, an aero helmet or long sleeve wetsuit has a more drastic insulation effect relative to my baseline. While I can’t speak for Macca, he fine tuned his “thermal racing tactics” in a half ironman in Malaysia 3 weeks before Kona, so he likely felt that the aero vs thermal tradeoff, vs getting dehydrated and cramping on the run were not worth the risk and you can’t really argue with 2nd overall.
I am trying to remember where I saw it but there was an interview with Mark Allen and they asked him about this choice. Mark said it did come down to the anticipated heat (which turned out to be not so bad that day) and that it was a gamble but overheating could cost him way more than he would give up in aero effect
Think about it, the gap at the finish line was small enough that an aero helmet could have made the difference between 1st and 2nd place for Macca.
I don’t see how an aero helmet would have improved his bike split. Macca was content to sit in the “pack” and conserve energy for the run. If he had wanted a faster bike split, he would have had to have broken away from the pack. Of course, this would have required a significant increase in energy expenditure, with or without an aero helmet, and likely would have impacted his run.
Perhaps an aero helmet may have helped him save even a bit more energy while riding in the “pack,” but I doubt it would have been sufficient to have significantly affected his run.
And while the gap was narrow, you also have to remember (1) Normann “wasted” some time celebrating in the finishing chute; (2) Macca cracked or came very close to cracking the last couple miles; (3) Normann looked much fresher at the finish; and (4) while Normann had a few miles where Macca was really gaining on him, he picked it up at the end. It was still a very close race, but I don’t think it was really as close as the time differential would indicate. In other words, I believe Macca has some work cut out for him if he wants to be able to beat a Normannesque* performance next year.
*“Normanesque” referring to the type of performance Normann put in this year.
“I don’t see how an aero helmet would have improved his bike split. Macca was content to sit in the “pack” and conserve energy for the run.”
Exactly. As soon as I saw his helmet choice while watching the NBC show, I knew why he wasn’t worried about a perfect TT setup. Besides running faster or Norman slowing down more, Macca would have had to had the whole group ride faster to have won.
Macca has stated publicly that he isn’t as gifted in the heat, which is the reason why he has his Kona camps every year and now competes at the Honu Half. He looks for any excuse to get out to Hawaii just to get used to the heat and humidity. The post above says it all. In 2004 he rode with an aero helmet and DNF’d. Last year and this year he used a helmet with lots of vents–fastest run last year and 2nd place this year. He seems to have figured out that an aero helmet in Hawaii just may not cool him down enough.
Look at the watts … Al Sultan 283 Average, Luke Bell (same pack behind Faris) about 270 Watts. (http://www.2peak.com/tools/hawaii3.php) I hope that Hawaii continues to give the real heroes of the game - those who do an “individual time trial” - the deserved victory.
IF his intention was just to sit back and save his energy for the run, he WOULD have gone the same speed with aero helmet, and used less energy doing it, and had MORE for the run…either way aero would have been better, unless the heat is the issue, but not on THIS particular day.
So exactly what was different with 05? Did Normann just have a bad day and even if he had no flats, would never have been in contention and Faris was going to win no matter what?
At the pace that they are riding, two things are factors - metabolic rate & core temperature. Both of those are what will sink you a race that is basically 100% aerobic. They are also related. Macca is a very smart guy. He spent a month training in Hawaii. He would have gone the same speed on less energy, but his body also would have been less able to dump waste heat. So, on the margin, he might have actually been using a greater % of his potential power. This would pose a serious risk for the run. It’s not just about energy. It’s about what % of energy you are burning relative to your max. That max is not a static number. It is certainly affected by things like clothing choice. Same reason no one in Hawaii puts on a full length skinsuit. Is it faster? Yes. But it is also hotter. As long as Macca was able to cover his calories effectively - i.e., sitting in the pack without an aero helmet didn’t cost him more calories than he could replenish effectively, then there is no reason for him to wear an aero helmet and risk overheating.
So exactly what was different with 05? Did Normann just have a bad day and even if he had no flats, would never have been in contention and Faris was going to win no matter what?
The swim was a HUGE part of it… Normann was having a good day until the flats, but you didn’t have the funky currents that slowed down the leaders and brought everyone out of the water so much closer. Because of that, you had a smaller group at the front, and Faris was able to break away. Last year was also amazingly calm on the bike, so that also would have kept everyone of the lead group cyclists together, as opposed to 2005, where less perfect conditions allowed Faris a chance to escape. Less people near you + more wind = success for a strong biker.
